# Evaluation of the effects of child sexual abuse prevention policies on adult perpetrated child sexual abuse

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · PREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA · 2023 · $364,704

## Abstract

Abstract
The current proposal seeks to rigorously evaluate prevention policy approaches for their impact
on the primary prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA) perpetrated by adults. Specifically, this
proposal is responsive to Research Priority 3: Community- or societal-level approaches (i.e.,
programs, policies, or practices that target characteristics of settings that increase or buffer
against the risk for violence) by cataloguing and rigorously evaluating state policies (i.e., school-
based CSA education laws and other relevant policies) associated with the prevention of CSA.
Programs that teach adults and children about the signs and symptoms of CSA, along with
strategies to report concerns of CSA, have promising evidence for increasing participant
knowledge and skills (Walsh et al., 2018; Gushwa, Bernier, & Robinson, 2019; Letourneau,
Nietert, & Rheingold, 2016). As such, 34 states and D.C. have school-based statutes that
encourage or mandate schools to provide CSA training to adults and/or children (Enough Abuse
Campaign & Prevent Child Abuse America, 2021). To date, there is very little evaluation of
these state policies to determine whether they are having the intended effect of population-level
decreases in CSA (Rosenzweig, & Hiner, 2020). The current proposal seeks to close that gap.
In Component A (i.e., Years 1 & 2) of this cooperative agreement, we will form a research-
practice-policy partnership (RPPP) (Aim A1), with researchers, policy experts, CSA
professionals, and those with lived expertise with CSA, to inform a state-by-state policy
landscape assessment (Aim A2) and scoping review of the scientific literature (Aim A3) on the
topic of CSA prevention policies. The specific plan for engaging the “Research Advisory Board”
(i.e., RPPP) is included under the Innovation Section. The products of Component A will make
independent scientific contributions and will provide the research team with the necessary data
(i.e., independent variables) for our rigorous policy analysis in Component B. In Component B
(i.e., Years 3 through 5) of this cooperative agreement, we propose to rigorously evaluate
school-based CSA education laws (Aim B1) and their variation (Aim B2) as well as examine
other CSA policies (Aim B3) across states on reports and substantiations for CSA and other
forms of child maltreatment. By evaluating the effects associated with school-based CSA
education laws and their variations across states, our results will provide scientific evidence as
to whether these prevention policies are having their intended effect on CSA and other child
maltreatment outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10701048
- **Project number:** 5U01CE003408-02
- **Recipient organization:** PREVENT CHILD ABUSE AMERICA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeffry Barton Klika
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $364,704
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2024-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10701048

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10701048, Evaluation of the effects of child sexual abuse prevention policies on adult perpetrated child sexual abuse (5U01CE003408-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10701048. Licensed CC0.

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